IImplementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Zoho CRMImplementation Guide for

Small and Medium Businesses

www.zoho.com/crm

IIImplementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Who can use this document?This guide will benefit those users who are responsible for administering the CRM system in their organization, those looking at implementing CRM for the first time in their business ormigrating to Zoho CRM fromother CRM solutions.

What challenges will this document address?

Incorrect implementation: This guide will take you step-by-step through the implementation.

Limited functionalities in CRM restrictingbusiness growth: Our wide range of features will address the advanced requirements of anexpanding business.

Lack of metrics to gauge CRM project success: This guide will help you identify your business goals so that you set up the system accordingly and make data-driven decisions.

Poor user adoption: The necessary trainingdocuments will help your team adopt the new CRM system.

Migrating existing data: A checklist will help you prepare for smooth migration.

Implementation Plan

List your sales and marketing goals

Identify the people who will access your CRM

Map your sales and marketing process to CRM

What are the benefits of using Zoho CRM?

Holistic view of customers and their data

Better contact and deal management

Automate sales follow-ups

Security of business and customer’s data

Greater coordination and efficiency within teams

Improve communication with customers

Broader spectrum for analyzing sales andmarketing metrics

Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Table of ContentsIntroduction � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 1

Implementation strategy � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3

Implementation plan � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4

Define business goals � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 4

Document, analyze, and map your business processes � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 6

Identify the key players who will help you understand every aspect of your business � � � 13

Start Implementing Zoho CRM � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 15

Set up basic organization details � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 15

Customize the account and set up basic modules � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 16

Identify users who will access CRM and set their roles and profiles � � � � � � � � � � � � � 22

Identify Users � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 23

Create Roles � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 24

Create Profiles � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 25

Add users and invite them to CRM � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 29

Enable data security � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 29

Establish data visibility and accessibility rules � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 29

Set up email integration and lead generation processes � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 30

Establish basic automation processes � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 32

Bring data into Zoho CRM � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 32

Determine the business metrics you want to see � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 34

1Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

IntroductionBusinesses are classified as small and medium-sized based on their number of employees and the turnover per year. In such organizations, the business plan is mostly growth-centric, as they continuously try new ways to engage with their customers and align their sales strategies to bring out the best� Using a software can help them run the business effortlessly, however implementing a new software into an ever-changing, growing ecosystem has its set of challenges.

We have identified some common challenges that majority of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face while adopting to a new system� We have mapped the challenges to Zoho CRM’s attributes, that will help to plan the right approach needed for implementing CRM�

Challenge Solution What does Zoho CRM provide?

Growing business requirements

may not match the CRM’s

functionality

Range of features to suit all

requirements

You need not worry about storage or

feature limitations for your growing

business� Zoho CRM’s editions and

a wide range of features can easily

be put to use for your ever-growing

business�

Difficulties in migrating data An easy migration setup The migration setup is built to allow

bulk import of files and it also lets you

retain data relationships with notes, at-

tachments, etc� You can prevent dupli-

cates from entering the new database

and also take steps to remove existing

duplicates post migration�

2Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Challenge Solution What does Zoho CRM provide?

Lack of metrics to gauge

success and various other

elements

Built-in analytics dashboard

and reports to measure

business growth

Zoho CRM can help you set definite

goals and run reports to measure

your success and failures and make

data-driven decisions.

Poor user adoption Resource materials, training

documents, ebooks, and

other resources

Training programs to learn directly

from specialists on how to leverage

Zoho CRM to the fullest extent,

exhaustive documentation, and

support from Zoho teams will help

your team adopt the new CRM system�

Incorrect implementation Documenting your business

process, mapping it with the

CRM system an

implementating each step�

This implementation guide will help

you plan, draft and successfully

execute the implementation process�

3Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Implementation strategySetting up CRM for your company is only finished when the full cycle of planning, implementing, and rolling-out to employees is completed. While companies invest in procuring top-notch CRM systems, they spend less time and resources on implementation� As a result, many companies fail in adopting CRM even though they overcome the initial hurdle of implementing it for their business� We suggest the following best practices which you can follow to achieve a successful implementation:

PlanningDefine your business goals and strategies and plan your implementation activities around them.

AnalyzingConfirm your requirements, analyze them, andunderstand their scope in the CRM environment.

DesigningReview your businessprocess and compare it with the CRM system to align it with your business. Analyze the integrations that are needed and prep your data for the migration.

ValidatingAssess the implementation in a test environment bygiving your sales teamaccess to the CRM account.

Deploying

Deploy the CRM. Continue to train your team members with documentations,training materials and other relevant resources.Document their pain points and identify the areas of improvement.

4Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Implementation planPlanning is the stepping stone in the implementation process� It is the most crucial and preparatory step that will lay the foundation for a successful implementation� For a proper planning you need to:

Define your business goals

Document, analyze, and map your business processes

Identify the key players who will help you understand every aspect of your business

Define business goalsHave a clear outline of what you want to achieve by implementing CRM� Following questions can help you get an answer�

What am I trying to achieve using Zoho CRM?

What are my key business priorities?

What are my business plans and how do I plan to achieve them?

Listing your business objectives will help you determine what you want to measure in your CRM system�

Sample business goals:

Business goal How do you plan to achieve it? What to look for in CRM

Increase customer

satisfaction

Better customer engagement - Segment customers based on their

interests, preferences, and buying

patterns and plan targeted marketing

strategies�

- Engage customers through regular

automated follow-ups and with a

social media presence�

Boost sales and process

efficiency

Identify and eliminate gaps in the

sales process

Streamline your business process in

CRM and automate the essential

processes to increase productivity�

5Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Business goal How do you plan to achieve it? What to look for in CRM

Reduce operational cost and

time

Automate manual and repeated

processes or actions

Use workflows and macros to

automate repetitive actions�

Increase cross selling and

enhance client retention

Centralize all customer related

data to give holistic picture of

customer’s sales cycle to all the

teams

Have a customer’s data, social

media interactions, email

communications, and support

requests, all in one place�

Activity sheet - Enter your business goals� (Refer Appendix I to download the complete activity sheet)

Business goals How do you plan to achieve them? What to look for in CRM

6Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Document, analyze, and map your business processesMake a list of the processes that are followed in your organization, analyze them, evaluate theirefficiency and make any required modifications before moving them into CRM.

Document your sales and marketing processesChart out all the elements in your process and make sure your team has a clear understanding of the processes that will be implemented in CRM. Creating a flow diagram will give a clearer picture and will also serve as a reference material during the actual implementation�

A sample flow diagram of a lead follow-up process:

John Doe[ Lead ]

Send first /welcome Email

John Doe[ Lead ]

Sendsecond Email

No response

John Doe[ Lead ]

End

Send third Emailand phone call

No response

John Doe[ Lead ]

End

Send otherinfo Email

Responsereceived

Charlie Stone[ Sales Rep ]

You can create a flow diagram of:

- How you gather and qualify your leads?

- How the leads navigate through your sales pipeline to become customers?

- The follow-up routine for prospects.

- The process for running marketing campaigns�

- The process of receiving payment after deal closure�

Make a list of methods that are used at different stages of the sales funnel, that is from lead capture to deal closure�

7Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Sample sales process

Sales stage Description Methods involved

Lead generation The first step of the sales process.

It involves capturing leads or

prospects from various sources�

Trade shows, webinars and

conferences, webforms, API calls,

Google Ads, social media

Lead distribution, nurturing,

and, engagement

Assigning leads to reach out to

them sooner� Making initial contact

with the leads and identifying

interested customers�

Engagement over phone, emails,

or social media

Lead qualification and

conversion

Converting the leads that want to

do business with you into contacts

or genuine customers�

Manual conversion or using the

lead conversion tool

Proposal and price quote Deciding the amount and sharing

the quote with the customers�

Follow-ups through phone, emails,

or in person

Negotiation Adjusting the deal amounts to

customer’s expectation�

Follow-ups through different

touchpoints�

Closed won/lost The deal or proposal is either

accepted or rejected�

Field update, communicate

through email or phone� Inform

the team and managers

Sample sales stages:

Tip: Sales processes may vary from business to business (for example, B2B, B2C, B2B2B, or B2B2C), but the basic stages involved in qualifying a lead to closing a deal will not differ much(for example, qualification, presentation, negotiation, etc.) . In Zoho CRM, you can easily manage the stages as per your sales process�

8Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Activity sheet - Document your sales process (Refer Appendix II to download thecomplete activity sheet)

Sales stage Description Methods involved

Analyze your business processesOnce you have the process documented, analyzing each stage and the steps involved gives you an opportunity to find a more efficient approach to carry it out. Examine the above stages to identify and fix the gaps before implementing the processes in CRM� The best approach is to get inputs from the users who regularly follow the steps:

Which steps usually cause delays in process execution?

Which steps create bottlenecks?

Which steps cause issues for the sales reps and other team members?

9Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Sample steps to analyze:

Process step Analyze

Enquiries Are all inquiries correctly allocated and managed?

Welcoming leads Are all the new leads from a particular country getting a customized welcome

email and is the lead status being tracked?

First reminders Do sales reps send these reminder emails on time for each customer?

Negotiation Are the discounts and benefits approved by the managers and are the entire team

following the guideline?

Notify Are the sales reps getting proper reminders for follow-up activities and are the

sales managers notified about deal closure?

Scheduled actions Are there any tasks, follow-ups or activities that your team does at regular

intervals?

Activity sheet - Enter the steps to analyze� (Refer Appendix III to download thecomplete activity sheet)

Process step Analyze

10Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Map your sales and marketing processesOnce you have completed analyzing the processes, it is time to map them to the appropriate CRMfeatures. Creating a flow diagram will give you a visual representation of the process (like the leadfollow-up above) It can help you analyze:

The extent of customization that you need to perform before getting your data into CRM�

The processes or steps that you will have to automate�

Any third-party applications that you need to integrate with CRM.

Tip: This step will also help you to decide which CRM edition you need to purchase based on the features that are supported in it�

Sample processes and its mapping with CRM features

Sales stage Methods involved Mapped to CRM feature

Lead generation Trade shows, webinars and

conferences, webforms, API calls,

Google Ads, social media

Webforms, Google integration, APIs,

social integration (Twitter and

Facebook)

Lead distribution,

nurturing, and

engagement

Engagement over phone, emails, or

social media� Identifying the best

time to contact�

Lead assignment rules, telephony,

email integration, social setup,

activities, Best time to contact

Lead qualification and

conversion

Manual conversion or using the

lead conversion tool� Predicting the

likelihood of conversion�

Built-in lead conversion tool

automatic conversion using

workflows, Scoring rule, and

Zia prediction builder

Proposal and price quote Follow-ups through phone, emails,

or in person

Workflows, Approval process,

automation tools

Negotiation Follow-ups through different

touchpoints�

Workflows and SalesInbox for

follow-ups

11Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Sales stage Methods involved Mapped to CRM feature

Closed won/lost Field update, communicate through

email or phone� Inform the team

and managers

Workflows and team collaboration

tools like Feeds, Cliq notifications

Activity sheet - Map your sales process (Refer Appendix IV to download the complete activity sheet)

Sales stages Methods involved Mapped to CRM feature

12Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Another thing that you should do alongside feature mapping is identifying your business language and check its semblance with Zoho CRM’s default terminology� For example:

If you are an e-commerce company, your business will use terms like wholesale products,shopping carts, discount codes, sign ups, refunds, and invoices�

If you are a real estate firm, your business will use terms like property listings, brokers, warranty, holding deposit, built-up area.

Mapping CRM terminologies with that of your business will help you customize your CRM account and keep it ready to migrate your data� Here is a sample comparison list from the real estate industry:

Zoho CRM terminology Business terminology

Leads Enquiries

Contacts Customers

Accounts Companies

Products Properties

Vendors Brokers

Activity sheet - Map CRM terminologies with business terms (Refer Appendix V to download the complete activity sheet)

CRM terminology Business terminology

13Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Identify the key players who will help you understand every aspect of your businessIf a CRM chosen by the top management is forced upon the sales teams without their consent, it may lead to failure� Furthermore, chances of rejection can be higher, if you do not involve the right people from the start� All the people may not readily like a change and a new CRM, but you still need the right mix of people with various roles and be ready to hear disagreements, different opinions, andsuggestions for a successful CRM implementation� Below is a list of some key players for theimplementation team�

Members in the organization Role in the implementation process

The leader This person steers the team to success and is the key to driving

an implementation project� This person is your project manager

who knows the benefits of a CRM, has good knowledge of your

business processes, and is ready to experiment with new

methods� Your project manager needs to be the Subject Matter

Expert who can contribute to the overall implementation of CRM�

The demander This person is one of the strongest motivators during the

implementation� They are the sales manager who will keep their

sales team motivated to get the best out of CRM� They will have

details of the exact reports that are needed, the various business

flows that need to be captured, and what is not working in the

current system and what needs to be fixed in the new CRM.

The real user Real users are people from all key user groups such as sales

reps and marketers� To get a full return on your CRM

investment, your sales reps have to see real value in it� Ensure

equal participation from them as they are the ones who will be

using Zoho CRM daily and will have feedback and useful

insights that can be considered from day one� To get

constructive feedback, you could also have online discussions

and surveys with focus groups including sales reps who have

been with the company for a long time and those who are fairly

new� It’s better to include them this way rather than just throwing

a completely unfamiliar CRM account at them�

14Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Members in the organization Role in the implementation process

The administrator They play a critical role by bridging the gap between your CRM

and the users who use it� With a good understanding of the

product, the CRM admins handle requirements from multiple

user teams to map their business processes in CRM� They not

only set up the CRM, but also constantly work on ideas to

improve CRM usage and improve user adoption�

The decision maker Decision makers are the group of people who want to see the

business grow and are usually the top officials in the company

which is going to adopt Zoho CRM� They live by example and are

ready to see the CRM in action� They will support you in many

ways to move forward and demonstrate great interest in getting

the CRM up and running�

People Role

Leader Project Manager

Demander Sales Manager

End User Sales Rep/agent

Activity sheet - Identify the key players in your organization (Refer Appendix VI to download the complete activity sheet)

15Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Start Implementing Zoho CRM

To begin implementation you need to log in to your CRM account and do the following:

Set up organization details

Customize the account and set up basic modules

Identify the users who will access CRM and set their roles and profiles

Add users and invite them to CRM

Enable data security

Establish data visibility and accessibility rules

Set email integration and lead generation methods

Establish basic automation processes

Bring data into the CRM system

Determine the business metrics you want to see

By defining business goals, documenting, analyzing, and mapping processes you have successfully planned for the forthcoming steps involved in the actual implementation of Zoho CRM�

Set up basic organization detailsNavigate to the CRM Setup page and add the following details in the Company Details section�The details you enter here are universal to all the users who access the CRM account�

Company name, logo, address, and contact information: These details can be pulled into official email templates and signatures�

Time zone: Instrumental for sending email notifications, scheduling reminders, and assigning tasks�

Currency locale: Essential for the amount fields such as Deal Amount, Product Price, etc.

Super Admin: User with admin privileges (profile) who is the point of contact for all billing and subscription communications from Zoho. Initially, it is the first person who creates the CRMaccount for the organization� It can be later changed to any user with default administratorprofile.

Business hours: Essential for determining a user’s availability for automated actions such as workflow triggers, task assignment, and scheduled activities.

16Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

There are a few more advanced settings under Company Details that you can skip for now as they are not mandatory� For example:

Multi-currency: which is only required if your business deals with multiple currencies�

Fiscal year: which is used to determine forecasts�

Hierarchy Preference: which is set to Role Hierarchy by default and can be changed toReporting Hierarchy depending on how you want the CRM data to be accessed and shared�

Customize the account and set up basic modulesThe next step in the implementation process is to set up the basic modules (Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Deals, and Activities) and align them your business� The action items for basic module customizations are:

Rename the modules (tabs)

Add custom and special fields

Edit field properties

Create layouts

Create custom views and filter records

Adding custom and special fields: Identify the types of data that is collected in your business, for example, sales start date, product type, product code, property ID, registration number etc� and add the custom fields to the layout so that when you import your business data to CRM, you can match it to the correct field types to avoid errors.

Renaming the modules (tabs): Navigate to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields, select the module and choose Rename from the more icon to edit the names of the standard modules�For example, Contacts to Clients� Deals to Opportunities�

Sample custom fields to start with:

Field name Field type

Sale or purchase date Date

Product type Picklist

17Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Field name Field type

Deal amount Currency

Product code Number

Customer name Single line

Product purchased by the

customer

Lookup (lookup field for the

product in the Customer module)

Besides these, you may also need system-defined special fields like terms and conditions, taxes, stage probability, and contact roles. You can add these default fields to the layout. Select the module and drag and drop the desired custom or special fields to the layout.

Editing field properties: When you edit the properties of a field, there are a range of available options that may be useful for your business� Here are some of those options:

Make fields mandatory: Edit custom fields to mark them as mandatory fields, so that a usercannot save the record without entering a value�

Do not allow duplicate values: Mark a field as unique. This allows you to prevent duplicaterecords in your CRM� For example Email Address, Passport Number, or Social Security Number are unique values that can help you prevent duplicate records�

Set field permission: Specify permissions for users at the field level . For example, you have a field called Student’s Total Score. This can be edited by professors but can only be viewed by office admins. Specify Read/Write access for the Professors profile and Read access for the Management Staff profile.

Create validation rules: Set validation rules for key fields to ensure that the CRM stops anyunacceptable data from being entered into the CRM� For example, Zylker University does not accept the application of a student with a CGPA of less than 3 for any of their courses� The Zylker admin sets a validation rule for the CGPA field that states: “If CGPA < 3, show a suitable error message”�

Mark fields containing personal data: If you have enabled GDPR compliance settings, this option can mark the field as containing sensitive data. Data from these fields will not be transferred or shared in the following instances: data export, API usage, and integration with other services of Zoho (Books, Finance, Campaigns, etc�)�

18Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Create layouts: If your company manages a range of products, services, or applications and wantsinformation about all of them in CRM, it is usually best to maintain them separately to avoid a cluttered database� You can create layouts for individual products or services in a single module� Layouts arespecific to a module, so you can create them for the module that contains the information.

Note: You can configure different automation processes for different layouts. While converting leads, the lead’s details can be transferred to a specific layout in the Contacts, Accounts, and Deals modules�

For example, a university can use layouts to keep the details of their undergraduate program and the graduate program separately in the same module called “Programs”. The type of information collected from the applicants and the admission process is different for the two programs and, with page layouts, it is easy to customize the forms and set workflows to automate actions for each program�

Shared With Me: Custom views shared with you�

Public Views: Views that are accessible to everyone in your CRM account�

Other Users’ Views: Custom views created by fellow users�

Create custom views and filter records: The records are arranged in a sequential order within a module, called the List View. The system-defined standard list view groups the records under these categories:

Favorites: Any list view that you mark as favorite�

Created By Me: Custom views created by you (the user)�

You cannot modify these default categories, but you can create custom list views� For example, you can create an exclusive view for leads from a particular region or high profile contacts or deals of a certain amount�

Similarly, you can create a Kanban view to categorize your data into an organized card-based display. The benefit of this view lies in allowing the users to drag and drop the records from one category to another instead of editing them individually� For example, whenever a lead’s status is changed from “attempted to contact” to “contact in future” you can simply drag and drop the lead to the appropriate category instead of changing the status from the lead’s detail page�

19Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

All LayoutsLayouts NoneSort ByLeads DetailsFILTER LEADS BY

Communications500,000.00

Email Opt Out

INRRudolph Scott

30,500,000.00 - 2 Deals

ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT

Communications500,000,00

Email Opt Out

INRMark Snap

1,000,000.00CONTACT IN FUTURE

Manufacturing30,000,000.00

Email Opt Out

INRCarrissa Meyer Add

Activities

Email Status

Notes

Campaigns

Last Name

Currency

Email Opt Out

Industry

Annual Revenue

Checkbox1

City

All Leads

Another view, called the Canvas view, will let you enhance the visual appeal of the record detail page by introducing background colors to the text, using fonts of your choice, highlighting texts, replacing regular field names with buttons, and more.

Considerations Actions Resources

Is your business terminology

different than Zoho CRM’s?

Rename Leads module Rename tabs

Are the standard fields in the

Leads module enough to capture

your business data?

- Make a list of fields that you need which

are not covered by the standard fields and

add the custom fields to the layout.

- Edit the fields and values.

Add custom fields

Edit fields

Is your database cluttered with

different kinds of records?

Create layouts Layouts

Is your record detail page

overwhelming the end-users with

information? Does it have too

many sections and fields that are

needed based on the customer’s

choice?

Set layout rules Conditional layouts

Leads

Setup the basic modules

20Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Considerations Actions Resources

Do erroneous field entries cause

problems for you?

Set validation rule for the fields Validation rule

Do you want to hide fields that

contain confidential information

from reps?

Set access limits Field permission

Do you want to streamline the

way leads enter your CRM

system?

- Manual entry

- Reps collect leads information, store in

spreadsheets, and add them to CRM in bulk

- You are moving to Zoho CRM from other

CRM system

- Capture leads form your website

Set up data import

Migrate data

Set up webforms

Do lead attributes play a role

in deciding who leads will be

assigned to?

Set up lead assignment rules Assignment rules

Do you want to categorize leads

to a certain group based on a

field value?

- Create custom list view with the desired

criteria

- Create a Kanban view

Customize list view

Kanban view

Do you want to convert leads to

contacts in bulk?

Set automatic lead conversion Lead conversion

mapping

21Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Considerations Actions Need help?

Do you need to adjust the

standard module to fit your

business needs?

- Rename the modules

- Add custom fields

- Edit the fields and values

- Add subforms to capture additional

details about the record

- Declutter the layout using

conditional layouts

Standard fields in theAccounts, Contacts,modules�

Do you want to track subsidiaries

or franchises of a single account

or contact?

Set up parent-child relationships

between the records

Map dependency fields

Accounts and Contacts

Considerations Actions Need help?

Do you want to customize the

Deals module to your business

needs?

- Add custom fields

- Edit the fields and values

Standard fields in the Deals module

Do you want sales agents to be

able to locate information about

other records from the Accounts

and Contacts modules?

Add lookup fields Lookup fields

Does your business need you to

discuss details of the deal with

more than one contact in the

organization?

- Configure contact roles field and

add the people with their

designations

- Exchange information based on

reporting hierarchy

Contact roles

Deals

22Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Considerations Actions Need help?

Does the deal stage vary from

the default stages in the Deals

module?

Replace or add deal stages

according to your business

requirement

Modify deal stages

Do you want to quantify the

likelihood of winning a deal?

Add a stage-probability field and

enter probability values for each

stage

Stage probability

mapping

Identify users who will access CRM and set their roles and profilesLet’s look at an example of Zylker, Inc� and its organization’s hierarchy�

Sample diagram

[ Sales Intern ]

[ Sales Executive ]

Nathan Brooks[ Sales Manager ]

[ Marketing Intern ]

[ Marketing Executive ]

Daniel Klein[ Marketing Head ]

[ Trainee ]

[ Developer ]

Mark Davis[ Product Lead ]

[ Support Executive ]

[ Training Executive ]

Patricia Boyle[ Customer Success Coach ]

Charlie Stone[ Product Head/ Founder ]

Prepare a similar flow chart of your organization’s hierarchy. It will help you plan the following:

The users who need access to your company’s CRM account: You may not need to provide CRM access to all your users� Not only does giving every employee access compromises thesecurity of your data, it also requires you to purchase more user licenses� You can choose toprovide access to only those employees who will use CRM regularly, which will usually be the sales and marketing teams�

23Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Roles that should be created in CRM: Roles provide access to the data in your CRM account�A user’s role tells you what data they can see� One role is assigned to each user� For example, Sarah Green, a sales rep, should not have access to the records that the sales manager owns�

Profiles that should be created in CRM: Profiles provide access to the features in your CRMaccount. A user’s profile tells you what they can do in their account. One profile is assigned to each user� For example, interns need not have permission to import or delete records�

Identify UsersMake a list of all the users who need access to your CRM account� If you are the only user in yourorganization’s CRM account then you will be the super admin� A super admin in Zoho CRM is a user with an administrator profile who can additionally delete users from the CRM account and receives allcommunications regarding billing and other financial transactions from Zoho.

Sample list of users who will access Zylker’s CRM account

Users Job titles

Charlie Stone Product Head/Founder

Nathan Brooks Sales Manager

Jasmine Frank Sales Executive

Daniel Klein Marketing Head

Ann Candace Marketing Executive

Mark Davis Product Lead

Patricia Boyle Customer Success Coach

24Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Create RolesBelow is a role hierarchy that replicates Zylker, Inc�’s organizational hierarchy� According to this, theinterns will not have access to a sales executive’s data, similarly, the executives cannot access amanager’s or product lead’s data� You can create roles from Setup > Security Control > Roles� See Also, Managing Roles

Roles

Zylker Inc

Product Head/Founder

Marketing Head

Sales Manager

Marketing Executive

Marketing Intern

Product Lead

Sales Executive

Sales Intern

Training Executive

Support Executive

Customer Success Coach

Developer

Trainee

25Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Create ProfilesThere are two default profiles available in CRM:

Administrative profile has access to every feature and module in the CRM account�

Standard profile has some basic permissions like viewing, creating, editing, and deleting records in modules�

Sample list of users, their roles, and profiles

User Role Profile What they will do in CRM CRM features needed

Charles

Stone

Product

Head/

Founder

Super Admin - Complete access to CRM

with admin privileges

- Add, invite, and delete

CRM users

- Customize the platform for

the business vertical

- Set profile permission for

other users

- Default access to all the

features

The default profiles are master templates and cannot be edited. You can clone these profiles to create new ones and customize them based on your requirements. Create profiles fromSetup > Security Control > Profiles. See Also, Managing Profiles

26Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

User Role Profile What they will do in CRM CRM features needed

Nathan

Brooks

Sales

Manager

Sales

Administrator

- Analyze sales metrics and

keep tabs on the number

of deals that are closed

monthly

- Generate sales and

forecast reports

- Export data from CRM

- View sales orders,

generate POs, invoices,

and quotes

- Assign leads to sales

executives

- Transfer record ownership

and manage other

record-level permissions

- Handle customer

escalations

- Permission to view and

manage access to

dashboards

- Permission to view,

manage, and schedule

permissions for reports

- Permission to export

data

- Full access to sales

orders and deals modules

- Permission to create

assignment rules

27Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

User Role Profile What they will do in CRM CRM features needed

Mark

Davis

Product

Lead

Administrator - Customize CRM platform

for the business

- Create workflows and

approval processes

- Manage users

- Enable data sharing with

other roles or peers

- Import data into CRM

- Manage lead generation

through webforms and

approve discounts or

negotiations on higher

value deals

- Assess the need for

integrating with third-party

applications and other

Zoho products and manage

plug-ins

Permissions to all the

features and modules

28Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

User Role Profile What they will do in CRM CRM features needed

Jasmine

Frank

Sales

Executive

Standard +

Administrator

- Set up email and chat

settings for the team and

manage templates

- Add leads, contacts,

accounts, and deals and

make edits

- Manage organization’s

social media handles

- Manage documents

in CRM

- Full access to the records

they own

- Permission to set up

email integration and send

emails

- Permission to view,

create, and edit records in

the modules, but no

permission to delete the

records

- Social tab permission

- Manage folder permis-

sions

Activity sheet - Identify the users and their roles, and profiles (Refer Appendix VII to download the complete activity sheet)

User Role Actions they will perform CRM features needed Profile

User 1 Their role List the tasks they will

perform

Work out which profile

permissions they will

need

Which profile will

you clone and

adapt?

User 2

User 3

User 4

29Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Add users and invite them to CRMOnce you have created the required roles and profiles you can start adding users in CRM fromSetup > Users and Control > Users > Add New User� While adding users, you will have to specify few basic details like first name, last name, contact number, and email address along with their role andprofile. Once the users are added a system generated automatic email is sent with the access link to their accounts. Users who have not accepted the invitation will be listed as unconfirmed users and you can re-invite them.

Enable data securityZoho takes every care to keep your data secure on our servers. You can also configure some additional security settings to increase your level of protection�

IP restrictions: (Setup > Users and Control > Security Control > Allowed IPs)You can restrict users from accessing the organization’s CRM account from specific IPaddresses. For example, if you want your team to only be able to access CRM from the office and not from their personal devices, then you can add your office IP as allowed IP address. This willprevent the users from accessing CRM from different IP addresses�

Two-factor authentication: (accounts�zoho�com > Two Factor Authentication)TFA adds another layer of security to your Zoho accounts. Once you enable two-factorauthentication, in addition to your regular account password, you will be prompted to enter aone-time password every time you attempt to log in to your CRM account. This OTP can bereceived as an SMS to your registered mobile phone or via Zoho’s OneAuth application�

Establish data visibility and accessibility rulesSetting up role hierarchy and profile permissions will let you determine the default permissions for each CRM user� But a user may sometimes need to view or access data that falls outside of theirpermissions� You can extend visibility by setting the data sharing rules�

Module-level exceptions: By default, the data access rights for all the modules are set to private, so that only the record owner and their manager can see the data� However, you can edit the defaultorganization permission for individual modules or create a new sharing rule�

Here are the main two settings that you can set up in your CRM account:

30Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Data Sharing Settings

Default Organization Permissions

This page allows you to manage default organization permissions and sharing rules. Default organization permissions govern how your records are shared across the organization. To furthercustomize your settings, you can add sharing rules, which allow you to set up pernissions between two roles, roles and subordinates, and groups.

MODULE

Leads

Accounts

Contacts

Deals

Campaigns

Activities

DEFAULT ACCESS

Private

Private

Private

Private

Private

Private

Edit All Default Permissions

Help

Edit Default Organization Permissions

Private

Private

Private

Public Read Only

Public Read Only

Public Read Only

Public Read/Write/Delete

Public Read/Write/Delete

Public Read/Write/Delete

Leads:

Accounts:

Contacts:

New Sharing RuleThis page allows you to create sharing rules for the selected module.

Records Shared From Roles Sales Manager

Records Shared To Roles Sales Representative

Access Type Read/Write/Delete

Superiors Allowed

Cancel Create Sharing Rule

Record-level exceptions: If you want to share records with others, you can use the Share option in the record’s detail page and provide full, read and write, or read only access to another user� An individual can share their records provided they have the share permission enabled in their profile.

Field-level exceptions: Some fields like Deal Amount, Salary, and Account Number contain confidential information and should not be visible to all the users in the organization. You can restrict a profile from viewing or editing a particular field by setting field permissions.

Centralize all customer information and email communications with prospects and customers within Zoho CRM� Email integration also gives you the option to share business emails with colleagues� Once the integration is in place, the outgoing and incoming emails will be available with the record�The following email integration options are available:

Set up email integration and lead generation processesEmail integration

Name Description

Zoho Mail add-on Configure your email account using POP3 or IMAP or use

popular email clients like Zoho Mail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail,

Microsoft Outlook, or Office 365.

Zoho CRM plug-in for MS Outlook Integrate your Microsoft outlook account with CRM to sync

emails, contacts, tasks, and appointments�

31Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Name Description

Organization email address If you want to use a universal mailing address across the

organization for all customer interactions, you can set profile

restrictions to limit usage to selected users only so that ,for

example, only the regional sales managers and VP of sales can

send emails from the org’s email address�

BCC dropbox You can skip integrating your email services with Zoho CRM and

continue to send emails from personal email addresses� If you

want to store a copy of your emails in CRM, you can generate a

BCC dropbox email address and copy it every time you send an

email to the customer from a personal email address� A copy of

the sent email will be stored in the record’s related list

Chrome extension for Gmail You can install the Chrome extension for Gmail to access your

CRM account from Gmail� This will allow you to add leads,

contacts, and notes to the records in CRM from your Gmail

account�

SalesInbox The SalesInbox is well organized and helps reps categorize

emails based on the recipient, i�e� lead, contact, not in CRM,

colleague, manager, etc�

Previously, you listed the various methods used by your organization to generate and engage leads� You can refer to the same list and set up the following features in the CRM account:

Lead generation and engagement methods

Lead generation methods Lead engagement methods

Webforms Scoring rules

Google integration Telephony

API

Twitter and Facebook integration

32Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Activities that are likely to happen repeatedly in your business process can be automated to occur at a particular date and time or when certain conditions are satisfied. For example:

Sending reminder emails to subscribers before their subscription end date

Notifying the regional sales managers whenever a deal worth $25,000 or more is created

Making follow-up calls to your vendors every month

Assigning leads from cold calls to a specific rep

This will help you reduce manual intervention and increase process efficiency. Here is a list ofautomation tools that you must configure before you get your customer data into CRM:

Establish basic automation processes

Automation tool Function

Workflow rule Automate a set of actions like email notifications, field updates, record

creation, tasks, and actions defined through functions, and webhooks by

creating workflow rules.

Assignment rule Set a rule to assign leads with similar attributes to a particular rep�

Case escalation rule Help sales managers or their superiors stay on top of their projects by

notifying them when a deadline is missed�

Bring data into Zoho CRMYou can now start importing data from external sources into your Zoho CRM account� Some of themethods that you can use to get data are:

Data import: If your data is stored in different repositories, you must export it and in thefile format that is supported in Zoho CRM before you can begin the import process� You canimport data and notes to individual modules provided your data is accurate, doesn’t haveduplicate entries, and the field names are identifiable for field mapping.

Migrate data from other CRMs: If you are migrating from a different CRM, you can use the data migration wizard� We support migration from these CRM applications: Salesforce, MS Dynamics 365, Pipedrive, HubSpot, Insightly, and Highrise� You can see the progress of import from the history and audit log�

33Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Some points you must remember while importing data into CRM:

Create assignment rules to assign records to the appropriate owner before importing therecords� The assignment rule must be selected not just for import, but also for creatingwebforms, and pushing data via APIs�

Remember to select a unique field during import. A unique field is unique for every record(for example, email address, employee ID, or social security number)� If you select employee ID as the unique field during import, CRM will look for other existing fields with the same value in your import sheet to identify duplicates� You can choose to skip duplicates, or clone or update existing records based on this unique field.

Pushing data from APIs: In addition to from webforms, data import, and migration, Zoho provides REST API support, which lets you integrate your CRM with any third-party application. For example, your field agents use an application developed by your organization to collect clients’ data� You can integrate that app with CRM to sync data between the systems and keep it up to date� In other words, whenever data is added to the app, it will be automatically added to CRM�

Zoho CRM APIs follow REST standards with the OAuth2�0 method of authentication, and uses simple HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE, which makes it easier to develop new applications or integrate existing ones with CRM. APIs like “Insert Records” and “Upload Attachments” can be used to add record information or fis like text, image, video, etc.

34Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Determine the business metrics you want to seeThe last step in your implementation process is to set up the system to reflect all the metrics that are defined in your business goals.

Sample metrics to measure using reports and dashboards:

Metrics Report and dashboard type Resource

- Salesperson’s performance report.

- Number of leads converted

- Number of leads generated through

campaigns

- View this month sales report

- Review a list of completed activities

- Number of unresolved cases

System defined reports for

leads, activities, cases, and

deals module�

(reports are available for all

modules)

Standard reports

- Number of deals owned by

“Jasmine Frank” in “Closed Won” stage

that have a revenue greater than

$10,000 USD

- Status of cases from “Netherlands” that

reported “system failure”

- Add these criteria to the

standard report for deals

closed this month

- Define region and type as

criteria in the case status

report�

Customize the

standard reports by

defining criteria

- Product that was sold the most this

month

- Industry that purchased “X” application

Create custom reports with the

metric of your choice

Custom reports

- Annual sales trend

- Monthly expenditure

- Quarterly enrollments

Generate reports on specific

dates automatically

Schedule reports

35Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Metrics Report and dashboard type Resource

Monthly and yearly sales targets achieved

by individuals

Target meter

Analytical components

Identify sales trends and pinpoint unusual

behavior

Anomaly detector

Analyze team’s performance and draw

comparison between data sets

Key performance indicator and

comparators

Represent business metrics and

distribution of data by stage graphically

Charts and funnels

Metrics Report and dashboard type

The metrics you want to measure The report or dashboard type

Activity sheet - List the metrics that you want to measure (Refer Appendix VIII and download the complete activity sheet)

36Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Congratulations!You have successfully implemented Zoho CRM for your business�

Visit our resources, help guides, ebooks, videos, and tutorials and join the community to meet your fellow CRM users and continue this journey� You can also enroll for our training programs to learn more about Zoho

CRM in person from our product specialists�

37Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Business GoalsHow do you plan to achieve them?

What to look for in CRM

Appendix I� Enter your business goals�

38Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Business GoalsHow do you plan to achieve them?

What to look for in CRM

39Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Sales stages Description Methods involved

Appendix II� Document your sales process

40Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Process Step Analyze

Appendix III� Enter the steps to analyze

41Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Sales stage Methods involved Mapped to CRM feature

Appendix IV� Map your sales process

42Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Sales stage Methods involved Mapped to CRM feature

43Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

CRM terminology Business terminology

Appendix V� Map CRM terminologies with business terms

44Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

People Role

Appendix VI� Identify the key players in your organization

45Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Users RoleActions they willperform

CRM features needed

Profile

Appendix VII. Identify the users and their roles and assign them profiles

46Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Users RoleActions they willperform

CRM features needed

Profile

47Implementing Zoho CRM for an SME

Metrics Report and dashboard type

Appendix VIII� List the metrics that you want to measure

www�zoho�com/crm

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